help picking a computer?

[Meety Peety]

Hey guys.. I'm looking to get a new computer but I'm not really sure what would be best bang for my buck. My price range is low, about $600 max.. so obviously nothing top of the line.. but I would still like to get the "Best" computer for what I would be paying. I've searched around and it seems like in my price range the three main factors seem to be

A) Proccessor - Intel 'Pentium' dual core VS. AMD Athlon II dual core
B) Ram included - Anywhere from 2gb to 6gb
C) Graphics card - Intel x4500 VS. GeForce 6150 SE. I heard both suck eaqually and need to be replaced by an aftermarket.

So basically I've found two computers on Best Buy's website that are within my price range.. not sure which one to go with. If I can buy the cheaper one, I may be able to pick up a better graphics card along with it and still stay in my budget.. however I'd rather buy the better quality computer and upgrade later on.. as I want it to at least last a couple years or so. So here are the two I'm trying to decide between. Thanks for any help anyone can offer me!

Asus

Compaq

[Tacom]

if you're willing to wait till a major holiday, www.ibuypower.com usually has pretty good sales/deals/free ugprades. right now they're giving every computer a free upgrade to liquid cooling.

if you're thinking of buying either of those computers and upgrading the video card, i would find out the power supply of both computers because newer cards recommend, usually, atleast 480watts. onboard gfx cards are always terrible and the 6150 is old and when it was new it wasn't the higher end of the chipset either.

ultimately it depends on what you're going to be doing with the computer.

ps
the compaq one will come loaded with bloatware and other useless crap. they won't give you a win7 disk to reformat to remove all that crap and start fresh, only a "rescue" disk if that. they'll probably try to sell you some service with "geek" squad, where they'll speed up your computer by removing that crap. don't buy that. i'm not sure about what the other one comes loaded with

[scr83jp]

Hey guys.. I'm looking to get a new computer but I'm not really sure what would be best bang for my buck. My price range is low, about $600 max.. so obviously nothing top of the line.. but I would still like to get the "Best" computer for what I would be paying. I've searched around and it seems like in my price range the three main factors seem to be

A) Proccessor - Intel 'Pentium' dual core VS. AMD Athlon II dual core
B) Ram included - Anywhere from 2gb to 6gb
C) Graphics card - Intel x4500 VS. GeForce 6150 SE. I heard both suck eaqually and need to be replaced by an aftermarket.

So basically I've found two computers on Best Buy's website that are within my price range.. not sure which one to go with. If I can buy the cheaper one, I may be able to pick up a better graphics card along with it and still stay in my budget.. however I'd rather buy the better quality computer and upgrade later on.. as I want it to at least last a couple years or so. So here are the two I'm trying to decide between. Thanks for any help anyone can offer me!

Asus

Compaq

My PC tech recommended www.tigerdirect.com for pc parts and pc's so I bought a new HP from them.Also purchased a 26" toshiba hdtv after amazon said tiger direct had them at a better price .

[Tacom]

if you use www.tigerdirect.com or www.newegg.com or even the best buy site, make sure to use bing cashback! it's usually 2-8% cashback on purchases. i know tigerdirect and newegg participate, not sure about bestbuy.

http://www.bing.com/cashback/

[choprzrul]

Shop your way through Dell or HP's desktop website, write down the model number and specs, then google "dell outlet" or "HP outlett" and find a system that matches your specs.

[JDay]

If you can spend about $180 more this would be the best bang for your buck. Its an Intel i5 based system with 4gb ram, 500gb drive and a GeForce 9500 GT video card. The i5 CPU is basically a i7 with the hyperthreading disabled. The one is this system is the quad core model.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229130

ETA: A Intel Core 2 Duo based system is going to run you just about the same.

[righteousbarbarian]

In addition to the advice other people give, keep an eye on www.woot.com , which has one deal a day. Every now and then you will find good deals on computers, and often within your price range. Just make sure to look up reviews before getting something.

As choprzrul mentioned, the dell website has some briefly pre-owned or scratch and dent computers for sale on their website in the outlet section. It's a little hard to find but worth it.

[Mute]

Cyberpower gives a lot of bang for the buck. You can find even more options if you get it directly from them instead of Newegg, unless Newegg is running some kind of sale.

[lewdogg21]

How come nobody has asked you what you want to use it for? Are you a gamer? Web/email surfer? etc.

If your just a web/email surfer snag a Dell Vostro 200 for $399 and throw in the added ram for $25-40 off newegg/whever to get to 4 gigs or more

[2Bear]

Its an Intel i5 based system with 4gb ram, 500gb drive and a GeForce 9500 GT video card.

This is a GREAT suggestion. Considering you'll have to pony up for a faster graphics card and this model may buy you a year or two more life before it obsolesces, it's worth the stretch if you can swing it.

NewEgg is a solid retailer.

And don't fear a refurb.

Repeal Moore's Law!

[Corbin Dallas]

Hey guys.. I'm looking to get a new computer but I'm not really sure what would be best bang for my buck. My price range is low, about $600 max.. so obviously nothing top of the line.. but I would still like to get the "Best" computer for what I would be paying. I've searched around and it seems like in my price range the three main factors seem to be

A) Proccessor - Intel 'Pentium' dual core VS. AMD Athlon II dual core
B) Ram included - Anywhere from 2gb to 6gb
C) Graphics card - Intel x4500 VS. GeForce 6150 SE. I heard both suck eaqually and need to be replaced by an aftermarket.

So basically I've found two computers on Best Buy's website that are within my price range.. not sure which one to go with. If I can buy the cheaper one, I may be able to pick up a better graphics card along with it and still stay in my budget.. however I'd rather buy the better quality computer and upgrade later on.. as I want it to at least last a couple years or so. So here are the two I'm trying to decide between. Thanks for any help anyone can offer me!

First off, what do you intend on doing with it? Games, surf, email, school, work?

Things to watch out for by shady sales people.

1) The more ram the better! This box will take up to 8GB!!! and is SMOKING FAST!!!

The truth is unless you have a 64bit operating system you are wasting money. 32bit operating systems like XP, Win7 Home and Vista Home only use up to 3.5GB of ram MAX. 64bit OS such as Win7 Ultimate and Vista Business use up to a MAX of 192GB. (short answer).

Let me further on the Memory using Win7 as an example.

32bit will see up to 8GB of ram but will ONLY ADDRESS 3-3.5GB of ram.

64bit starter and home premium will address up to 8GB, home premium - 16GB, Pro, Ulitmate and Enterprise - 192GB.

Vista is similar to the above. XP will only address 2GB of ram and see a max of 4GB. (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...78(VS.85).aspx)


2) Video card "brand xxx, name xxx" are really poor cards and hinder performance.

The real question is what are you going to do with that PC that demands a better card? Gaming, 3D cad work, photoshop, video editing? Most newer cards will support 1080i video output on a 1920x1600 screen. (I personally run 720p movies from my 3 year old HP laptop with NO issues on a 46" LCD Sony TV)


Those are the most common "upgrades" that sales people will shaft you on for more $$$.


First decide what you want to do. If online gaming is in your future, make sure to get what you need for it.

Video card for gaming: 1+ GB onboard ram with it's own GPU and fast buss speed will improve graphics. Make sure your monitor is also up to the task with low latency times.

Memory for gaming: FASTER is better than MORE. 2GB @ 1333MHz buss speed will SMOKE ANY 4GB @ 800MHz.

Processors are also a big deal. Quadcore or higher for gaming is preferred. The new Nahalem processor from intel is insanely fast and in my opinion, worth every penny.

However, with all that said, you will be WELL over $600 so it would be best to find a happy medium.

[2Bear]

How come nobody has asked you what you want to use it for?

His concern on the graphics card capability was enough for me.

[Tacom]

i thought me saying "ultimately it depends on what you're going to be doing with the computer" would constitute asking